Just In Time
by Chexed Nut
Summary: A collection of one-shots about Zero, Yuuki, and their life after Kaname is frozen.
1. Shells

**A/N:** I've been wanting to write these for a while, but I never found the time to. Vampire Knight was a huge part of my life and I never really wrote anything for it, but I finally have time so I dug these old one-shots out and decided to flesh them out. I don't know how active this fandom is anymore but I know there are still some. I will mainly write these for my own pleasure, but please let me know what you guys think. Reviews are a huge inspiration to me.  
That being said, here are a few things to note:

 **1.** They kept putting out extra chapters to wrap it up on the side and although I've read them _this story will be disregarding the extra chapters that have been tacked onto chapter 93_. Some elements will be taken from them, though, such as their children's names.  
 **2.** If any of them seem OOC please let me know and I will try to update the chapter :)  
 **3.** Chapter titles will be the songs that inspired the chapter. Give them a listen!

Song by _Laurel (Candyland Remix)_

* * *

It had been 35 years since her brother threw his heart into the furnace, 35 years since he was imprisoned in an ice coffin, 35 years since she believed that she had lost the only man she could ever love, and 35 years since she was proven wrong.

She floated in and out of awareness, anchored only by the feeling of blood being drawn from her neck. It caused a strange pulling sensation, as if her blood was a string that was threaded throughout all of her veins, tying her heart to his with each drink. Then again, her heart has always been inexplicably connected to his with a knot that could never be undone.

It was impossible to lie to each other in a relationship such as this. The truth was written in every vampire's blood, and all of his truths pointed back to her. Every dream, every desire, every hope that he had... she was the catalyst to each of them. She had assigned the conviction to herself that she was meant to be with her brother and that she would eventually find true happiness with him, but that notion slowly trickled away with every drop of this man's blood like sand in an hourglass. It had never felt right when she looked at her brother... even though it was supposed to. The desire wasn't reciprocal. She would cry in her bed when she was sheltered, dreaming of someone else's embrace and longing for it everyday. Each overwhelming emotion made her feel like she was falling in the ocean, and she lay clinging to dreams and fantasies like a drowning sailor struggling for air.

His mind tried to sort through the distorted images that flowed inside of her consciousness as her blood ran over his tongue. His ears were filled with a mix of sounds composed of his thoughts with her own overlaying them. Arguments they have had, vehement denial of what lied in the future, lies that had been told between the two, lust that they had acted upon, and the regret that she wished he didn't harbor... all of the nostalgic senses combined to form a tragic symphony that could only be stopped by the sound of his name on her lips, her hands on his face, and her gentle kiss.

His stormy mauve eyes gazed upon the moonlit sky with a mystery that captivated her completely. The moon's light danced over him, his pallid skin frozen underneath her touch as the cool of the winter night reached its peak. The feeling of his body that had warmed her bare skin soon left her as he moved to lay at her side. Her wide, maroon eyes locked onto the blizzard brewing outside.

His full lips parted as he attempted to catch a small drop of her blood that lingered in the corner of his mouth, enjoying the sensation that melted his entire body. He exhaled in satisfaction, his scent carrying over to her, releasing the combined smells of cherries and gun smoke into the cool air.

The fact that his skin always smelled a little like gun smoke was much like him, she thought. He floated along in the breeze, swirling and changing, providing a moment of relief or discomfort to whomever crossed his path. Then he would disappear, tickling your senses in a heartbreaking way. She knew that soon enough he would disappear and her heart would break.

"Do you know what I admire most about you," she asked, her eyes tracing his silhouette.

His gaze fell upon her chocolate hair, his lips turning up in a small grin. "What's that?"

She turned to face the darkness of the ceiling, a chill running up her back, imagining that one day she would lie here alone.

"You live as if there's all the time in the world. While everyone else is sitting on the edge, you're not afraid to look past the inevitable as if it doesn't exist."

He stilled, his hand reaching out to run her hair through his fingers.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice quiet as he felt his heart suddenly become heavy. "But time doesn't care about people or their lives. It runs out for everybody eventually."

Her breathing slowed as she listened to his words. Her heart became solemn as the two of them continued to lay in silence.

She loved his fire. She craved his passion. She was mystified by the fact that he never stopped regardless of his fate.

But to the people who never knew what it was like to be born without all of the time in the world, they didn't understand what it was like to move and change like gun smoke in the air, nor what it was like to love someone who you knew would be gone someday.

He could never stay by her side forever. That was the only certainty they possessed.

* * *

 **A/N:** Although it technically is an extra chapter that it happens in, Ai will still be Kaname's daughter.


	2. Platinum Disco

**A/N:** As I mentioned, some of these will be short and some will be long. This is an example of a shorter one.

Song by _Kosaki Satoru_.

* * *

Zero wiped his hand down his face, reluctantly glancing at the clock that was buzzing on the nightstand, before smacking it to the floor. He refused to believe it was 7:00 a.m. He hadn't even been sleeping for a full 4 hours.

Ai had kept him occupied most of the night as Yuuki had been away with societal business for the past week. He didn't even start officially getting work done these days until 8:00 after she went to bed. He wasn't even able to sleep in either. That girl was somehow consistently up either at the crack of dawn or mere minutes after he was every day, complaining that she was hungry, wanted to color, watch television, go outside, or whatever else her little heart desired. He had never seen a child more like their parent than Ai was to Yuuki. That fact was the scariest thing he had ever had to come to terms with in his entire life.

"Give me a break," he groaned to himself. Knowing that Ai would rouse within the next 5 minutes, he stood up, got dressed, and headed down the staircase towards the kitchen.

 _Traditional breakfast or pancakes?_  
 _...She'll want pancakes.  
But Yuuki will kill me if she finds out I made her pancakes 3 days in a row.  
...I don't really care._

Zero searched the cupboards for the ingredients and utensils needed. He tried to fixate on the job at hand, but his focus continually went back to the paperwork he had left over from the previous night. It would take a good 4 to 5 hours to apply the ridiculous amount of bureaucratic nonsense that was needed in order to finish it. Kaien had specifically requested that he process it, as well; something that Zero had tacked onto his list of reasons why the man needed to be put down like an old dog.

 _This batter needs a little more water._

Black print on white paper.  
So much text, so much bullshit, and all useless.  
In Zero's eyes, it would be easier to light a match and burn it all. To him it was not like it was truly that important. It was simply hunting reports that have been turned in and needed to be dealt with. While going through those types of documents technically was part of his job, he was convinced that there had to be an easier way to do it.

 _Would a paperless system make it easier? More efficient?_  
 _Dammit, an eggshell fell into the mixture. Gotta pick that out..._

In reality, he didn't want to change protocol in order to better the Hunter's Association; he just wanted it changed because he had better things to do. Like hunting and catching up on sleep. As he was deep in thought, he heard the sound of small footsteps barreling down the staircase.

"Stop running in the house, Ai, you'll kill yourself."  
"Good morning, Daddy," Ai said loudly as she pounded into the kitchen, ignoring his comment. She grabbed the edge of the counter and began jumping up and down. "Are you making pancakes," she asked with a huge smile.

"Good morning, Ai. Yes, you are having pancakes." He slowly poured a small amount of pancake batter into a frying pan. "But we're telling your mother that you had a healthy breakfast when she gets home tonight, alright?"  
"Okay!"  
"And stop calling me daddy," he said, tapping her head with the spatula he held. "I'm not your father. The man encased in ice is and you know that."

Ai stroked her hair where Zero had touched it with the utensil. "Zero is Ai's father too!"  
"No, I'm-"  
"Can we play today? Pretty please?"

Zero sighed. "I'm not sure," he stated. "I have lots of work to do. Maybe later this afternoon."

Ai looked up at him, grabbing onto his hand. "Daddy, I have advice for you. When people tell me to do things, I don't listen to them. Then I don't have work to do! It works for me. You should try it."

Zero looked down at Ai. His mouth reflexively opened to respond, but he was unable to come up with anything.

* * *

 **A/N:** Something my niece said to me once. She's such a little shit.


End file.
